TRAVEL | OKANAGAN
COMING HOME TO PENTICTON The attractive grounds of the Penticton Ramada
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>> BEER SEEKERS n a hot July day, we’re rocketing like a blue streak (quite literally, actually) towards not just any town, but Beer Town.
Penticton, long the focal point for BC’s South Okanagan summer playground, is something more for us: it’s a true craft beer community. As we detailed in our last issue, the long-running Okanagan Fest of Ale (felled only in its 25th year by the damn virus) planted the seed for a strong craft beer culture here early on. As a result, Penticton developed a beer scene years ahead of its bigger cousin Kelowna.
Today, Cannery is better to visit than ever. In addition to their taproom and front patio, they have recently added “The Backyard”, a lovely, quiet green space adjacent to the north side of the brewery. The same beers are available here as in the taproom, rotating food trucks provide more solid sustenance, and one can (socially distantly) while away an afternoon with friends at shady picnic tables. Cannery continues to be the “place to be” in Penticton as illustrated by the fact that we met up with several industry insiders during our leisurely afternoon visit.
Kelowna now has double the breweries, but with only one fifth the population, Penticton easily wins the per-capita brewery comparison. That, again, helps explain why it has the nickname #BeerTownBC. Now, with that settled, let’s investigate where to find some friendly faces and cold craft beer in this warm, welcoming place.
Downtown Beer Crawl
Start your tour at Cannery Brewing. Operated by the Dyck family since 2001, it’s a rock in the tight Penticton beer community. Although Cannery was severely affected by the March shutdown order, this is a family that was too experienced to surrender to panic. After temporarily and tearfully parting with staff members they consider their extended family, they kept hold of the steering wheel and brought things back under control in the following weeks.
Bad Tattoo has had a great reputation since they opened. They make good, solid beer, some of the best pizza in BC beer, and were one of the first breweries to make hand sanitizer when COVID hit. They’ve expanded their production over the years but were hit hard by the spring closure. They laid off staff and started making sanitizer. Owner Lee Agur says that it’s been busy since they’ve gone back to beer, and they’re hiring again. Slackwater Brewing is the newest kid on the brewery block. Owners Liam and Kelsey Peyton spent much of 2019 getting married, going on a honeymoon, moving from the coast, and starting a brewery, all at the same time! By February 2020, their tasting room was frequently at 90% capacity, before everything came crashing down. Fortunately, Liam understood the significance of the virus and saw the shutdown coming, so he started working on an online delivery platform in advance and quickly shifted production to packaged product. Slackwater was therefore the first brewery in Penticton to start home deliveries.
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